


Immurement

by DidiWednesday



Series: Excursed [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28992507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DidiWednesday/pseuds/DidiWednesday
Summary: Whilst storming Adamant, the Inquisitor and company come across a surprising guest.
Series: Excursed [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126802
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Immurement

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning: This is technically unfinished. I don't really know where I wanted to go with this? But I wanted it out of my head, so here we are!
> 
> Brief context: In this fic, Yazad Adaar is the Inquisitor. She was a mage with the Valo-kas before getting caught up in all the elfy stuff. The rest is pretty straight forward.
> 
> Also, my personal headcanon is that elves have tapetum lucidum, so their eyes glow in the dark like cats.

Boom!

CRASH!

“The Inquisitor is here!”

Wet gurgles from a slashed throat.

Shrieks from newly summoned demons.

Cast chain lightning to stun two grey wardens and a rage demon long enough for Blackwall to ram into them and finish the job.

Cast barrier around Cole. Sweet thing is fast but doesn't pay attention to his own injuries. Need to make him better armor next time they're at Skyhold. _If_ they make it back to Skyhold.

Concentration slipped. Fear demon slithering to flank left. Not enough time to turn and strike. Fade step away. Attack, attack, attack, _attack_.

Yazad Adaar snorted softly and shook her head, flicking away the loose strands that had escaped her usually tight braid. Vivienne, Cole, and Blackwall drew closer to her, bodies and weapons at the ready although the hallway they currently stood in was empty save for the opponents' corpses. In the distance, they could still hear the ghastly roaring of the archdemon, but it was softer than it was before.

“I think we're heading in the wrong direction,” Blackwall observed. 

“I know,” Yazad said. “I know. But-” She compulsively flexed her hand around her staff. There was something wrong about this situation, something off...

“We may be moving away from the dragon, darling, but it seems like the are more wardens than ever.” Vivienne turned on her heel to look further down the dark hallway. “Almost as if they were protecting something...”

It wasn't until Cole spoke that Yazad finally came to a decision. “Dark. Dank. Death,” he murmured. “Haven't seen anyone in hours. Yelling and screaming. Are they dying? Good. Let them perish. Let it all burn to the ground. _Bellanaris din'an heem_. May all you scent be death.”

Yazad started walking in the direction Vivienne was looking towards. “If the wardens are hiding something, it must be important. Let's see what it is.”

\----------------------------------------------------

The hallway veered sharply to the right then led down, down, down. The already dilapidated walls of Adamant Fortress looked even more decrepit as they ventured deeper inside. 

Finally, the four of them found themselves in a dungeon of sorts. It was pitch black save for the fire in Yazad's palm and the glowing orb in Vivienne's. For a long, tense moment, the four of them just stood there in complete silence.

Blackwall cleared his throat and said, “Maybe we should-”

Cole snapped his arm out with a soft, “There!”

Two small, glowing circles hung in the distance, unmoving. They disappeared briefly as if... blinking?

Yazad finally spotted a batch of torches near her. She snapped her fingers and successively lit five torches along the wall. The light revealed the wall to actually be a row of prison cells, and the white circles resolved into a pair of pale yellow eyes.

A dark-skinned elf was standing in the middle of one of the prison cells. She blinked rapidly against the sudden light, tipping her head slightly forward so that her long black hair fell across her face. Her asymmetrical vallaslin – a pattern that Yazad didn't recognize – marked her as Dalish. She wore a simple tunic, leggings, and boots.

For all that the rest of the cells were dusty and bare, her cell was surprisingly well furnished. A thick blanket lay on a bare mattress that was elevated from the floor on a sturdy looking, wooden frame. A desk with a lamp and some books was pushed against the opposite corner. The accompanying chair even had cushions along the back and seat. 

The elf stood with her legs pressed together and her arms crossed against her chest, almost as if she were trying to avoid touching anything else in the room. She hadn't said a damn thing yet, but her eyes darted from one person to another, cool and assessing.

Cole had no such reservations. “Hello, are you hurt? We're here to help.” Blackwall surged forward to grab the spirit's arm, keeping him from closing the final few steps to the cell. 

“Careful, lad,” he said gruffly. “We don't know who we're helping yet.”

The elf finally moved, inclining her head back and locking eyes with Yazad. She licked her lips and said, “You aren't Grey Wardens.” Her gaze swept up and down Blackwall's form, but she said nothing more.

Yazad paused to see if Blackwall would reply. When he didn't, she said, “No. We're with the Inquisition.”

At that, the elf rocked on her feet and let out a low whistle. “So the Grey Wardens finally brought down the ire of the Inquisition on themselves! Good.” She bared in her teeth in what might be called a smile and stepped closer, wrapping her hands around the iron bars. “Let me out, and I will fight with you against the wardens.” 

Vivienne sniffed testily from behind Yazad. “Now, why would we release some prisoner we stumbled upon in the Grey Wardens' keep, hm?”

“This was just supposed to be a visit,” Cole whispered. “Checking in before checking out. _Fen'harel ven na'is_. I didn't rebuild the Grey Wardens for this!” He paused and looked at the elf as if truly seeing her for the first time. “You're her!”

Before anyone could say anything else, a suddenly loud clattering could be heard coming from the direction they had come from. The Inquisitor's party quickly turned, weapons at the ready. A massive shape darted down the stairs. The elf let out a sharp cry as Vivienne hurled a fireball at it, but the creature - a mabari? - dodged nimbly and ran past them all straight to her. Following nearly on the dog's heels was-

“Warden Alistair.” Yazad nearly sighed with relief and lowered her staff. “It's good that you're here. We need you to-”

“Yes,” he interrupted. “Yes, absolutely. If you will just- I need to- Um, just hang on.” He distractedly patted Yazad's arm, then pushed past her to join the mabari at the cell.

The mabari was rubbing themselves along the cell bars, whining pitifully all the while as the elf ran her hands along whatever fur she could reach. When she saw Alistair, her face suddenly crumpled, and she let out a low, broken noise. “Alistair.” She thrust her arms through the bars, chanting his name until he stepped into her reach. “Mahariel.” For a few moments, they stood there, foreheads pressed together, holding each other tightly despite the iron between.

Behind them, Blackwall sputtered. “Mahariel? As in the Hero of Ferelden, Warden-Commander Mahariel?”


End file.
